The Gathering

PHD Ireland, DDFH&B and The Gathering win the Grand Prix

In 2013 the Irish Government undertook it’s largest ever tourism initiative after a colossal 23% drop in tourism. The initiative was called, The Gathering. A movement that asked 4M Irish people to reach out to the 70M Irish global diaspora, inviting loved ones home to celebrate Ireland in 2013. The communications challenge was to go from zero awareness to a full blown social movement at a time when people had no belief in the Irish government and the economy was bankrupt. This required creating a shift in five different levels: behavioural, cultural, financial, trust and investment. We created a simple idea called “Be part of it”; and by building a new brand using predominantly social and content media we engaged 35% of the population exceeding targets of €168 Million by 19%.

The Gathering took home two golds, best new learning and the Grand Prix at this year’s awards. Find out what the judges thought in the video below.